Lt. Blake Bondurant with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office walks near the site where Harris County deputies responded to a two-vehicle crash involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent vehicle and the driver of another vehicle in the 12400 Old Foltin Rd. in northwest Houston in Houston Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
Lt. Blake Bondurant with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office speaks to the media near the site where Harris County deputies responded to a two-vehicle crash involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent vehicle and the driver of another vehicle in the 12400 Old Foltin Rd. in northwest Houston in Houston Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
Lt. Blake Bondurant with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office stands near the site where Harris County deputies responded to a two-vehicle crash involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent vehicle and the driver of another vehicle in the 12400 Old Foltin Rd. in northwest Houston in Houston Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
Lt. Blake Bondurant with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office speaks to the media near the site where Harris County deputies responded to a two-vehicle crash involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent vehicle and the driver of another vehicle in the 12400 Old Foltin Rd. in northwest Houston in Houston Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
A Mexican national was taken to a Houston-area hospital on Thursday morning after he was arrested following a brief chase involving U.S. Immigration and Customs agents in northwest Harris County.
An ICE vehicle struck the back of a blue pickup truck after the man driving it attempted to flee from two immigration agents, according to a briefing by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. The man was arrested after he exited the truck and began running away. The chase and arrest happened around 6:40 a.m. near the intersection of Old Foltin Road and Essie Road in the Hillebrenner area.
The Department of Homeland Security identified the man ICE captured as 52-year-old Luis Eduardo Villanueva Loredo, who a spokesperson said entered the U.S. illegally and voluntarily returned to Mexico on March 26, 2007. He later “illegally entered” the U.S. again at an unknown date and location.
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“We’ll conduct a thorough investigation, just like we do for every single event there is, whether or not it’s ICE or not,” said Lt. Blake Bondurant during the briefing.
The crash comes less than two weeks after an ICE agent driving an SUV struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez, a 48-year-old immigrant and Houston resident for over 30 years, leaving him hospitalized with a broken leg. The agency’s activity in Houston was already under heightened scrutiny after an ICE officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old construction worker and father, in July.
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Despite a multi-unit response from law enforcement, Harris County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Terry Garza said the crash on Thursday was minor and both vehicles were driveable. The response, which included members of the vehicular crimes division, was because the incident involved ICE, she said.
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The immigration agents attempted to pull over the man with an active order of removal, the sheriff’s office said.
The 52-year-old man driving the truck fled from the agents, according to the sheriff’s office. ICE agents reported that as they pursued him, he failed to navigate the “s” curve in the roadway. After driving about 200 feet, the pickup drove off the road into a ditch and then returned to the road, at which point one of the ICE agents’ SUVs hit the rear of his truck, breaking its taillight.
The man attempted to run but was quickly detained, according to the sheriffs office.
In a statement, a DHS spokesperson described the chase similarly, but added that Villanueva’s car hit the front driver’s side of the ICE vehicle, and that immigration officers activated their emergency lights and sirens before attempting a vehicle stop.
ICE agents called 9-1-1 to report the crash to the sheriff’s office. While waiting for local law enforcement and EMS to arrive, Villanueva complained of chest pains. Emergency responders found “nothing wrong on scene,” and Villanueva was then transported to a local hospital as a precaution.
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While waiting for local law enforcement to investigate the collision, Villanueva complained of chest pains. Officers called EMS, which arrived shortly thereafter, found nothing wrong on scene, and transported him to a local hospital as a precaution.
The street on which the crash happened is lined mostly by metal fences and parking lots for Our Lady of La Vang Parish, a Catholic Church that serves the Vietnamese community.
The scene of the crash was cleared by 10 a.m.
The sheriff’s office said it would be investigating the incident in consultation with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
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No charges had been filed against anyone involved in the crash.